Roof Top Tent on DCSB Roof

Who said it was an old vehicle? I'm not asking you to understand why I choose not to post personal info or criticizing anyone else, I'm just answering your question

 

When it all comes down to it, Toyota says don't do it - the truck's roof isn't rated for it. Sadly, Leer will tell you the same thing; the shell isn't reinforced and isn't rated for it.
If you don't care, pick either mounting location and go for it. We all modify our vehicles beyond their spec limit, and we all assume liability for each of those modifications and how they may affect the vehicle negatively. I'm not saying the roof is rated to support it; but it obviously will.

To answer your initial questions accurately, I've not run a RTT on a tacoma cab, but have on a camper shell; I've ran RTT's on Subaru cabs (rated for less). I had no long term issues with any of the setups. Longest length I had a RTT on a vehicle full time was 2.5 years, daily driven 70 miles/day, very mild occasional trails. The Pros: it all worked as advertised. The Cons: My vehicles weren't rated for it, and it still worked as advertised. Potential Cons: I ran the risk daily of a potential failure, assuming all liability for potential damage, damage to others, potential warranty or insurance denials bc the vehicle was outside of intended specs, etc.

Its not fair to say that you can put the entire weight of the vehicle on its roof rack. Evenly distributed, yes the roof should withstand the weight with the support of the pillars/glass, but that doesn't translate to rack weight specs. The only "fair" spec you can go off of is the OEM determined spec, using the OEM rack. Think less about the rack specs, and more about the mounting bolt shear strength. Its why dynamic vs static weights matter. So take all of that shooting from the hip, discount it bc I'm just an internet stranger, and mount it where you want and be happy lol.

 

My rig 10 years ago, tent on stock Subaru crossbars rated at 125# dynamic weight (i.e. driving down the road) No issues, I'd gamble that a 3rd gen Tacoma cab is at least as strong as what Subaru was making in 1999.

 

on the topper…

or on the truck cab, no issues either way.

I will say the FrontRunner rack on the truck cab feels significantly more sturdy.
Just Thule bars mounted to the tracks on my Leer topper.

 

I'm heavily leaning towards putting it on the roof, and at least trying it out while I recoup some funds and think about a Prinsu top rack for the topper. I'll have to get Thule or Yakima rails as well and the LoadMax would be on the list if I tried it and it felt iffy.

The Prinsu rack feels incredibly strong when you shake the truck by it.

Having ran both ways, which did you prefer??

 

Not a bad idea; it may take a few months to build up the courage to drill holes all in the top of the camper shell for the tracks anyways lol. It did for me at least.

 

I prefer the solid mount of the FrontRunner on the truck cab but the trade off is basically adding a 4’x18” vertical wall at the top of your windshield. It definitely affects mpgs.
I think my topper is also the Leer 100XR non-reinforced. I also have TC bed stiffeners.

 

For anyone wondering, I ended up putting the tent on the roof and it's great. We used it over the weekend and had a blast.

It was me, my wife, and our two small kids in the tents and contrary to popular belief the truck's roof didn't collapse, nothing caught on fire, and no cracks opened up in the ground.

In all seriousness it was totally fine.

Surprisingly I got zero added wind noise than what I already had with my rifle cases, awning, and lightbar. It took 6ish weeks to get the 1" tent mounting feet I ordered from Prinsu, and when they finally came in it took me probably 2+ hours to get it all bolted down and working together.

It BARELY clears my light bar, but it clears. I have a shark-fin antenna, so my last load bar is vertical rather than horizontal, so I can't use it for mounting. This means the tent sits a little father forward to keep the mounts evenly disbursing weight, and this wouldn't have worked without the 1" higher feet to clear my lightbar.

Between tightening all 24 RTT mounting bolts and getting my awning back on I have no skin left on my knuckles or forearms.

My current plans are adding rails to my camper shell and getting a Prinsu Top Rack for it. Then I'll put my rifle cases back there because I already miss the extra storage. I'll also move my awning to the same side my tent opens so I'll have almost the entire truck length for shade and cover. As an added benefit I can stand up straight under the tent now at 6'4. I may end up with the Prinsu awning brackets to raise it higher as well.

 

It’s fine, just don’t forget the kids and wife are up there when you make a beer run.

One suggestion, if you do leave it up there a lot take the mattress out when you’re not using it so it doesn’t deteriorate in the heat of the sun.

 

I have a 100XR with full prinsu. Best to run a low profile and light RTT such as GFC Superlite or Inspired Overland.

 

They would be one upside to building a trailer for the tent... LOL

Interesting suggestion. Have you had trouble with your mattress in the past?

This is my second roof top tent and never had a problem with either over the last few years. I also ran a 2' mattress topper in each that I leave in there 24/7 as well with no issues..

 

People seem to run them all kinds of tents on their shell with zero issues, but something about the weight of the tent, the rack, plus my family just seems like a lot for straight fiberglass.

Although, people run them directly on their Jeep Wrangler hardtops more than I see them on camper shells, but those are just fiberglass as well and maybe even thinner than the 100XR. I bought an external frame mounted roof rack when I had my RTT on my Wrangler for the same concern about fiberglass and that much weight.

Overall I am happy with how it turned out on my Tacoma's roof though!

Here is a picture of my first RTT on my Wrangler with an externally roof-rack that I mentioned above.

 

What options do I have if my wife is 400lbs? I guess I could always trailer her.

 

Haven’t had any issues with the mattress, but foam gets weathered and begins to harden with age in the heat, so if it’s easy to remove why not extend its life?